


The Vices of Envy

by lurking_in_the_background



Series: Cautionary Tales from the Shoppe of Wonders [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Jealousy, Jewelry with a mind of its own, Mental Illness, Poison, Short term memory loss, Unrequited Love, Why people insist on buying stuff from this store, i will never know, the power of evil jewelry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:21:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22136992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lurking_in_the_background/pseuds/lurking_in_the_background
Summary: Pamela Delano has it all: a nice house, fancy clothes, a reputation any woman would kill for, and is the founder of the country’s largest producer of cosmetics, Delano Incorporated- all animal-cruelty free, of course. She’s the embodiment of the American Dream. But her friend, Ivy Matthias, has the one thing Pamela has been dying for: a nice little family. And the fact that Ivy’s husband is her dream guy doesn’t help.So when Pamela runs across a little shop that sells a to-die-for pair of earrings while shopping for Ivy’s birthday gift, she is helpless to resist. But envy can lead to some awful things, and in the Shoppe of Wonders, your decisions are your own.You would do well to remember such things, or you’ll wind up .... a cautionary tale.
Relationships: Kryos Krystalle/Zandstri Belizna, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: Cautionary Tales from the Shoppe of Wonders [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1557727





	1. Snake of Envy

**Author's Note:**

> I decided I wanted to elaborate on the earrings Angela almost bought in my first work of this series, and here they are.
> 
> Also, I did my best to convey Zandstri as someone who’s second language is English, and his broken English... if it’s not accurate, please don’t hate me. My friend who helped me with the Russian in my last story said Russian has no prepositions or helping verbs.. stuff like is and the. I tried.

Pamela Delano’s face hurt from pretending to smile at her friend Ivy’s baby shower. It wasn’t fair, she thought. Why did Ivy get to have the perfect husband, the perfect kids, and still be able to get more? Pamela was still waiting on the husband, at age 36, and was yet to encounter any man who fit her tastes, aside from the one man who was off-limits: Ivy’s husband, Caden Matthias.

The man was perfect! He had the look of someone who knew what a hard day’s work was, and was not afraid to flaunt it. He was the embodiment of hotness, with tanned skin and golden hair, and eyes like molten chocolate. Pamela had invited Ivy and Caden and their two adorable children to her house to swim in her pool, and had spent not a small amount of time watching Caden and his toned body that was fit, but not veering into ‘obsessive bodybuilder’, jump off the diving board.

“You must be so happy, Ivy!” one of Ivy’s other friends- _horrible woman,_ Pamela thought; _she looks like a fat, multi-colored bird_ \- tittered. “It’s your third baby!”

“Well, I don’t know,” Ivy laughed. “I’ll be pregnant during my birthday next week, which means baby things for my birthday gifts!” Pamela laughed with everyone else, even though she was laughing for a different reason; it was the least Ivy could do, after she had the gall to conceive a third baby immediately after Pamela’s newest beauty product, Perfectly Glowing Highlighter, had hit the market and practically sold out.

It took all the shine off her victory.

But on the way home, she thought that she could at least find Ivy a small gift that she could put with a baby item. It was what her best friend deserved, despite ruining her moment.

*  
Two days before Ivy’s birthday, Pamela had already picked out a nice, soft blanket that both momma and baby would enjoy for the first part of her gift. But she didn’t have a gift for Ivy _specifically_. It was maddening.

So she went out, determined to find a gift, even if she had to reschedule her four o’clock meeting with her board to do so.

*  
At three thirty, Pamela was still giftless. She had tried and failed to reschedule the meeting, and so she had to head back, or risk being late.

As she began driving to the Delano Incorporated building, she noticed it: a little shop with a quiet atmosphere that boasted the solution to life’s problems and an air of mystery all at once.

Pamela had no idea what made her stop and go inside, but she did stop and she did go inside. And inside, she was amazed: it was beautiful, both medieval and modern at the same time, and full of all manner of intriguing items; from books and jewelry, to odd jars of things and cloaks, to swords and armor. Pamela was so fascinated she almost ran into the smaller red headed teen.

He had hair she would normally disapprove of- too long and it was falling all over his face -but it was braided very nicely, and it looked clean and well-cared-for. His eyes were rather large, and so dark she mistook them for black, and his skin was lily-white; so soft looking and smooth.

She had intended to ask him for assistance, but now she felt the overwhelming maternal urge to pinch his face and hug him; she wanted to wrap this boy in a soft blanket and keep him in her house where nobody would ever be mean to him and give him good tasty food to eat-

She realized she’d been staring.

Clearing her throat, Pamela dragged her eyes from the boy’s face- why did she think of him as a boy, he was clearly at the very least 16 -and said, “I need to find a present for my friend Ivy.”

He smiled. “W-well, is there s-something in p-particular she likes?” Pamela felt her heart melting; that was the cutest little stutter she’d ever heard. She forced herself to focus. “She likes jewelry; preferably something that her kids can’t simply pull out and eat, so maybe a necklace?”

The boy smiled again. “Th-th-that’s Zandstri’s area,” he explained. He pointed back towards a white-haired man in the area of the jewelry, setting something up. “H-he’ll t-take care of you. I-I would, b-b-but I s-spilled a Maternity Potion on me, and I c-can t-tell you’re f-f-feeling the effects.” He hesitated and got a very shy, embarrassed look. “S-sorry for the i-inconvenience.”

That did it. Pamela reached out and pulled the boy into a hug, pressing his face against her chest. “You’re so cute!” she cooed at him, petting his hair. “Oh, you’re a little darling, aren’t you?” She barely registered the red-head wiggling in her arms before the white-haired man came over. “What is this?” he asked, stretching the ‘i’ in ‘this’ until it sounded more like ‘thees’.

Pamela has thought he was an old man at first, but upon seeing him, the man was actually most likely in his early twenties, with short white hair that stuck out in all directions, with a long, thin braid down his back, with beads and little feathers braided in. His eyes were the lightest blue, like a clear sky, and they were shaped like almonds, staring at her curiously.

The red head flushed. “I sp-spillled a m-maternity p-potion on m-myself,” he explained. “S-she was j-j-just walking by..” The white-haired man nodded. “Please Naritic let go,” he said. “He need to go back to work.”

“C-can I ch-change my clothes first?” Naritic squeaked, his face a little pink from where Pamela had pinched him. The white-haired man frowned, those clear blue eyes glazing suddenly. “Why you need do that?”

“I sp-spilled a maternity potion..?”

“Oh.” His eyes cleared.

He nodded and Pamela reluctantly let Naritic go. As soon as he was a little ways away, she no longer felt like scooping him up and nuzzling his face. She frowned. “What is a maternity potion? Did it make me want to adopt your employee?” Pamela flushed. “Sorry about that, by the way.” He blinked at her confusedly, his eyes glazing slightly, before clearing suddenly.

“Matern-“ he frowned, trying again, “Maternty-“ He began muttering under his breath in what sounded like Russian before he perked up and said “Ma-ter-ni-ty potion. It make you love someone like your child.”

“You need help?” he asked, tilting his head like a bird’s. Pamela nodded. “I need a gift for my friend Ivy, preferably jewelry,” she explained. He nodded.

“I’m Pamela,” she said, holding out her hand. “Zandstri,” the man replied, shaking her hand. He led her to a section of the store that was full of glittering pieces of art; necklaces and bracelets, rings, earrings, headpieces, it had everything. She spotted several she thought Ivy might like, including a thin bracelet that looked to be made of woven golden wire, a necklace that had a cat’s eye stone on a leather strap, and a second necklace of silver and diamonds and pearls, which looked like the stars had been captured and woven into a strand.

“These are beautiful,” she breathed, holding one up. “Good,” Zandstri replied, smiling smugly, “I make them.” Pamela stared. “ _All_ of these?!” He nodded, looking very pleased. He picked up a ring, turning it in the light. “This one good for you.” 

“I’m here for my friend, Ivy,” she reminded him. He blinked a few times, then set the ring down. “Yes, yes.” He picked up several more, but something had caught Pamela’s eye: a pair of earrings, shaped like snakes, encrusted with tiny rubies, that appeared to be biting the ears of the bust.

They seemed to whisper to her: ‘Why does she get to have what’s supposed to be yours? Why does she get to be happier than you? What’s so special about her?’ “These,” she told Zandstri. “These are the ones.”

He looked at her oddly, but he shrugged and removed them from the bust, as carefully as if he were handling real snakes. He brought them to the front, and wrapped them in a box. “These are special,” he warned, “be careful with them.” Pamela smiled at him. “How are they special? Are they magic?” She glanced around her watch and gasped, before dashing out the door to get to her meeting.

Zandstri frowned, his eyes glazed, as she walked out.

“I forget.”


	2. Envy’s Poison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Ivy’s birthday! And Pamela is /dying/ to give her her present..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who have read my earlier works, you have some vague idea about what these are. That’s right, it’s /those/ earrings, and even if this makes no sense to you, that’s cool. Just enjoy the creepiness!
> 
> Sorry I haven’t updated in forever, but I got sidetracked with my other series! Oops! ><

“Aw, Samantha, you shouldn’t have!” Ivy cooed, holding up a gorgeous pair of strappy high heels. “These’ll go great with my velvet miny, when I lose enough weight to wear it!”

Pamela smiled, pretending she wasn’t appalled. Ivy didn’t wear heels, not since she prematurely went into labor with her second kid on a sidewalk when she stepped funny in a pair, broke her foot, fell, and consequently broke her water. _God, Samantha, everybody knows that_ , she thought disgustedly.

The entire day had either been baby gifts or gifts Ivy would never use. Now, it was Pamela’s turn.

“I got you two gifts,” she said smugly, handing her the aqua bag. “Aw, Pammy, you shouldn’t have!” Ivy squealed, opening the bag. She pulled out the soft, thick, cuddly blanket. “I don’t know if the baby is going to get to cuddle on this,” she told Pamela earnestly, “because this kinda feels like a Mommy blanket!”

“There’s one more, Ives,” Pamela reminded her, smiling. Her best friend had not changed in years.

Ivy pulled out the small box wrapped in plain brown paper, and immediately set about opening it. Once it was open, she gasped: inside was a pair of golden snake earrings, with little ruby eyes, that would appear to bite her ears. They were beautiful, and Ivy’s brain ignored the warmth seeping from the metal. “Pamela..! They’re beautiful..!” Ivy teared up. “I’ll wear them for date night tomorrow!”

Pamela smiled, but was a little put out Ivy wasn’t a little more disappointed with her tiny gift.

.

The next night, Ivy was all set for date night. All that remained were the new earrings Pamela had gotten her. She admitted, she had been a little disappointed by the small box at first, but the earrings were by far her favorite gift.

She slipped the things on. They did look fantastic on her, she thought. Leave it to Pammy to find something she looked gorgeous in!

As she began heading downstairs, she noticed she felt a little faint. Maybe she hadn’t eaten enough.

But then the feeling of faintness morphed into the feeling of burning from the inside out, as if someone had dumped boiling hot acid down her throat. She could hear, ringing in her ears, voices, such terrible voices, like snakes hissing:

“Her life is so perfect!”

“Why does she have all the luck?”

“How dare she rub her perfect little family and her perfect little life in my face!”

“She’ll get what’s coming to her!”

“That little bimbo bitch! I bet those aren’t even her husband’s kids!”

They hurt so bad, made her so sad, and she barely noticed when she fell down the stairs.

The voices were too loud.

Ivy didn’t even hear her neck snap when she hit the floor.


End file.
